Teledrone: Shared Outdoor Exploration Using Telepresence Drones

Outdoor activities are an important way for friends, family, and couples to spend time with one another and share exploration activities. Yet when people become separated by distance it can be difficult if not impossible to participate in outdoor activities together. We propose a design called Teledrone that uses a drone with video conferencing display to create feelings of social presence during shared outdoor activities over distance. With Teledrone, users connect into the video call display and can maneuver the drone to follow a friend or family member during an outdoor activity such as hiking. In this way, Teledrone provides an embodiment for a remote user and can help support spatial awareness.